Published: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 10:57 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 10:57 a.m.

The first thing I noticed upon walking through the doors at Kyoto Asian Grille was the tangy, sweet-hot aroma of peppers cooking. The second thing I noticed was how friendly everyone was – at least three people greeted me.

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The next was how quickly owner Nai Jung “Johnny” Cheng has transformed this former Wendy's on Market Street into a restaurant with its own identity. A sushi bar stands in place of the former fast-food counter, and all the action of the kitchen is visible through a glass pane.

Kyoto serves an array of Asian cuisine, with Thai, Chinese, sushi, bento boxes and hibachi/teppanyaki dishes representing their mother nations. This pan-Asian menu approach could potentially be confusing, but the menu is smartly grouped, which makes ordering easy.

I've always been a fan of the concept behind bento boxes – single-serving, standalone meals – and I immediately gravitated toward the tempura box. Kyoto's comes with tempura-battered shrimp and vegetables, a California roll (sushi roll made of cucumber, avocado, imitation crab and sprinkled with flying fish roe known as tobiko), salad, soup, rice and crab wontons. It's a lot of food.

The tempura batter was nearly perfect – light, but just hearty enough to have a satisfying crunch – and but for a little extra oil on a few of the vegetables, quite good. The shrimp was a little strong, flavor-wise, but the vegetables – green pepper, onion, carrot and zucchini – were spot-on. My favorites were the onion (who doesn't love a Japanese onion ring?) and the zucchini. If the green peppers had been sliced more thinly, which would have cut down on their bitterness, they'd have been on top as well.

I'm normally a miso soup guy, but I went outside the box and tried the egg drop soup. Wow. Creamy, hearty and eggy all at once, it was a tasty counterpoint to the tempura.

I also turned away from my usual ginger dressing and tried the peanut dressing (which my server said was house-made, and it tasted like it) on my salad. It was excellent – slightly spicy, but with enough peanut flavor up front to keep it mellow. Later, I did try my usual ginger dressing and it was a bit flat, tasting only of grated ginger and light soy sauce.

As good as the tempura box was, I wanted to know what that intoxicating smell was. Turns out it was the Pla Sam Rod – lightly battered catfish in a three-flavored Thai chili sauce. This came with a salad and rice, and was a large enough portion to share with my wife, with a little left over the next day. Hands down, the Pla Sam Rod was the best dish I tried at Kyoto. Spicy and sweet, the chili sauce, which was really more of a chutney or relish, had just enough heat to remind you that you were eating Thai food, and it matched very well with the mild catfish.

The Thai basil with chicken pulled together the spice and the smoke you'll find in a lot of Thai food, and delivered a real flavor punch, especially when the rice soaked up some of the sauce. The chicken was all white meat, well-trimmed and cooked perfectly, and came served on a bed of onions and peppers, topped with fresh basil.

I had miso soup with the Thai basil chicken, and, again, my server said they make their own dashi (Japanese soup stock), boiling kombu (kelp) and preserved bonito flakes to create a rich, flavorful, very umami broth. It wasn't the best miso I've had in town, but it was certainly superior to most.

Kyoto has a couple of constantly running specials. One is the “2 for $20” dinner. Select any two dishes from the Thai and Chinese section, or any hibachi selection except for the seafood dinner, Kyoto dinner or lobster, and pay only $20. The savings is only two or three bucks, but it's a savings nonetheless.

The best deal at Kyoto is their $3 lunch bowl. A heaping bowl of fried or steamed rice, veggies and your choice of steak, shrimp (teriyaki, sesame or honey) or chicken, it arrives on your table in only a couple of minutes.

<p>The first thing I noticed upon walking through the doors at Kyoto Asian Grille was the tangy, sweet-hot aroma of peppers cooking. The second thing I noticed was how friendly everyone was – at least three people greeted me. </p><p>The next was how quickly owner Nai Jung “Johnny” Cheng has transformed this former Wendy's on Market Street into a restaurant with its own identity. A sushi bar stands in place of the former fast-food counter, and all the action of the kitchen is visible through a glass pane.</p><p>Kyoto serves an array of Asian cuisine, with Thai, Chinese, sushi, bento boxes and hibachi/teppanyaki dishes representing their mother nations. This pan-Asian menu approach could potentially be confusing, but the menu is smartly grouped, which makes ordering easy. </p><p>I've always been a fan of the concept behind bento boxes – single-serving, standalone meals – and I immediately gravitated toward the tempura box. Kyoto's comes with tempura-battered shrimp and vegetables, a California roll (sushi roll made of cucumber, avocado, imitation crab and sprinkled with flying fish roe known as tobiko), salad, soup, rice and crab wontons. It's a lot of food. </p><p>The tempura batter was nearly perfect – light, but just hearty enough to have a satisfying crunch – and but for a little extra oil on a few of the vegetables, quite good. The shrimp was a little strong, flavor-wise, but the vegetables – green pepper, onion, carrot and zucchini – were spot-on. My favorites were the onion (who doesn't love a Japanese onion ring?) and the zucchini. If the green peppers had been sliced more thinly, which would have cut down on their bitterness, they'd have been on top as well.</p><p>I'm normally a miso soup guy, but I went outside the box and tried the egg drop soup. Wow. Creamy, hearty and eggy all at once, it was a tasty counterpoint to the tempura. </p><p>I also turned away from my usual ginger dressing and tried the peanut dressing (which my server said was house-made, and it tasted like it) on my salad. It was excellent – slightly spicy, but with enough peanut flavor up front to keep it mellow. Later, I did try my usual ginger dressing and it was a bit flat, tasting only of grated ginger and light soy sauce.</p><p>As good as the tempura box was, I wanted to know what that intoxicating smell was. Turns out it was the Pla Sam Rod – lightly battered catfish in a three-flavored Thai chili sauce. This came with a salad and rice, and was a large enough portion to share with my wife, with a little left over the next day. Hands down, the Pla Sam Rod was the best dish I tried at Kyoto. Spicy and sweet, the chili sauce, which was really more of a chutney or relish, had just enough heat to remind you that you were eating Thai food, and it matched very well with the mild catfish.</p><p>The Thai basil with chicken pulled together the spice and the smoke you'll find in a lot of Thai food, and delivered a real flavor punch, especially when the rice soaked up some of the sauce. The chicken was all white meat, well-trimmed and cooked perfectly, and came served on a bed of onions and peppers, topped with fresh basil.</p><p>I had miso soup with the Thai basil chicken, and, again, my server said they make their own dashi (Japanese soup stock), boiling kombu (kelp) and preserved bonito flakes to create a rich, flavorful, very umami broth. It wasn't the best miso I've had in town, but it was certainly superior to most.</p><p>Kyoto has a couple of constantly running specials. One is the “2 for $20” dinner. Select any two dishes from the Thai and Chinese section, or any hibachi selection except for the seafood dinner, Kyoto dinner or lobster, and pay only $20. The savings is only two or three bucks, but it's a savings nonetheless.</p><p>The best deal at Kyoto is their $3 lunch bowl. A heaping bowl of fried or steamed rice, veggies and your choice of steak, shrimp (teriyaki, sesame or honey) or chicken, it arrives on your table in only a couple of minutes.</p><p>Features: 343-2343</p><p><h3>Kyoto Asian Grille</h3></p><p>4102 Market St., Wilmington</p><p>Cuisine: Thai, Japanese, Chinese</p><p>Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, 5-9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday, 5-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday </p><p>Price range: $3-$10 for lunch, $7-$25 for dinner</p><p>Contact: 332-3302 or www.KyotoAsianGrille.com</p>